After dropping out of UCLA, James Franco worked the late shift at McDonald's to support himself while trying to become an actor.

However, he re-enrolled at UCLA as a creative writing major, completing his degree in 2008 after taking an accelerated course load while continuing to act.

For his role in the TNT biopic "James Dean, Franco started smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

He was not a smoker previously and has since quit. Also he lived on the streets for several days to prepare for his role as a drug addict in "City by the Sea".

Franco wrote a collection of short stories, "Palo Alto," named after the California city where he grew up.